Weed Identification

Australia > > Hawthorn

Hawthorn

Crataegus monogyna

Family: Malaceae (often included in Rosaceae).

Form: Tree

Origin: Native of Europe, south western Asia and north Africa.

Flowers/Seedhead: White or pink, to 15 mm wide, in terminal flat-topped clusters, fragrant. Flowers spring.

Description: Branched spiny deciduous shrub or small tree to 10 m high. Spines to 2 cm long. Leaves to 6 cm long and wide.

Distinguishing features: Distinguished by young growth and flower stalks hairless; leaves wedge-shaped at base with toothed lobes, main veins on lower surface are hairy, leaf stalk up to 5 cm long; false fleshy fruits (pomes) red when ripe, about 9 mm wide, each with 1 seed.

Dispersal: Seeds are mainly spread by birds. To a lesser extent spread occurs via mud and fruit on machinery, vehicles and animals, and following digestion of fruit by foxes and other animals.


Red fleshy fruit & wedge-shaped
lobed leaves
photo J. J. Dellow

Notes: Introduced to Australia in the mid 1800s, and used extensively as a hedge plant. Mechanical disturbance causes suckering. Dense thickets protect undesirable pests and birds. In Europe and New Zealand it is an important reservoir of fire blight bacterium, Erwinia amylovora, which affects pears and apples. Leaves are often skeletonized by slug-like larvae of a sawfly, the pear and cherry slug, Caliroa cerasi. Plants are salt tolerant so have been planted near the sea.

References:

    Noxious Weeds of Australia.W. Parsons and E. Cuthbertson, 1992, pages 567–570.

Web References: Search Australian web sites for further information on this weed.

Fragrant flowers, Eltham, Victoria, October
Invading pasture, Rosegarland,
Tasmania, October
photo J. R. Hosking

This weed has been included in the WEEDeck field guide as card T16

More information about WEEDeck is available from Sainty & Associates Pty. Ltd.

 

Australia > > Hawthorn

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